The Promise
by Living in Illusion
Summary: It was a promise Rukia wanted Ichigo to keep. But he couldn't or now did he? Long oneshot. Ichigo X Rukia.
1. Promise: Broken

**A:N/ This story is mine to be honest, I just abandoned the previous account of mine cause of personal reasons and I loved this story the moment I wrote it, so I decided to put it up here.**

**Happy reading. The next and final chapter will be up tomorrow.**

**Pairing: Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki.

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**_Promise: Broken_**

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'_You call that a drawing!'Ichigo pointed at her drawing paper and snickered wickedly, trying to piss her off. And by the looks on her face, he was succeeding. He watched in silent amusement as the girl in front of him balled her hands and landed him a painful fist in his head._

_'THWAK'. The muscle in her temple was still twitching in annoyance._

_Ichigo howled in pain, anger and laughter all at the same time. This girl knew how to land a bruising punch._

_Ichigo glared at her and they started their usual fights about nothing and everything at the same time._

* * *

Rukia sighed and looked at the fresh picture she had drawn just about now. 'Ichigo would have laughed at this', she thought mentally,'And he'd have amde me angry and we'd have started a useless stupid fight. And after, we'd be in the floor, laughing till our stomach hurt.'

Oh what wouldn't she had given to have those crazy moments with him again.

'You see Ichigo, I'm improving', she said softly as she leaned back in her chair and let her tensed muscles relax as she closed her eyes. She still couldn't believe he was gone. She thought about that abnormal orange hair, that crazy attitude, the tender side of him that he didn't let anyone but her to see. How could he be gone.

She opened the window in front of her table and felt the evening air caress her face. Then she got up and eyed the clothes and the photographs of him on the bed. She couldn't let him go. She had kept them by her side just to feel close to him, even for a second.

She got to the bed and felt those green army clothes. The texture of clothes was rough against her soft skin. She took a whiff of smell, it smelled just like him. Without her knowledge, her favourite words escaped her lips,'Ichigo!'

She then rummaged through the photographs. Ichigo with his comrades in arms. The omnipresent furrow of his brows smoothed out as he smiled for the camera. It felt like forever as she looked, caressed and felt the last of Ichigo's belongings.

Before she turned off the lights to sleep, she thought she saw something orange move by.

'Great, and now I'm hallucinating', she thought as she slid into the bed, hugging his clothes. Too afraid to close her eyes to dream and too tired to take anymore of the loneliness that engulfed her being.

* * *

'_Don't go Ichigo, please', she pleaded with tears in her eyes,'It's not your fight. You are an artitecht, a painter. You are not a fighter. Please Ichigo!'_

_'If it's my country's fight, then it's my fight Rukia. I may not be the greatest of the fighters but I can fight and they are going to need all the help they can get', Ichigo said with a tone of finality in his voice, looking anywhere else but her way._

_'But Ichigo...', she trailed off. He had a good enough reason. He wanted to protect his country. It was a noble cause. What was she supposed to say to that._

_'Rukia, please. Don't try to bind me to you. If you keep on going like that, my resolve will falter. It is our country and it's calling for me. I can't turn a deaf-ear to the call. Plus, what sort of person would I be, if I don't do this!', Ichigo finally rested his roaming eyes on Rukia. He looked her piercingly in the eyes and tried to pass along the message that was in his heart._

_And Rukia understood. 'You hace already enrolled, haven't you?'_

_Ichigo nodded in confirmation. Rukia smiled despite her bleary eyes and hugged him,'I'm glad you are the man I love. Whatever you choose, I swear, I'll stand by you 100% and that's a promise. But promise me that you'll be back to me in one piece!' She tried to chuckle despite the tears._

_'You love me'. Ichigo asked her, feeling happy. His hold on her tightening. He knew she cared for him and he was in love with her but with her, he had never dared to voice his feelings and she wasn't so vocal about her feelings either._

_She giggled as she broke apart from him,'Yes!'_

_'All the more reasons for me to make it back home alive', he grinned as he enveloped her petite form again. 'I've got a surprise to give you anyway', he added mysteriously._

_She asked him what the surprise was but he flat out refused to tell her,'Patience is a virtue Rukia', he would say looking at her expression._

_And the day had come for him to leave. He had gotten accepted._

_'Promise you'll return to me', she told him through the train-window._

_'Promise!',he had sworn, his eyes glittering as the train stared to move._

_He was the man of his words. He always managed to keep his promise despite all the odds. But this one, he couldn't. He had failed to keep the most important promise in his life. He didn't return to her. He had left her forever._

* * *

**The sound of guns, bombs.**

**The smell of poisonous gases, rotting corpses, blood soaked Earth.**

**The sight of death, enmity.**

**The sacrifice of the patriots for the country.**

**They had stood their grounds and despite the odds, they had fought with all their might. They were all martyrs now but somehow Ichigo had managed to survive and had called for reinforcements. They will be here soon and the battle of this fort would be won by them.**

**The enemy had fought as valiantly and Ichigo respected them for that. Their reinforcements had been called and defeated. Ichigo was the sole survivor of the vicious battle. He'd seen so many of his fellow comrades and the enemy fall to their death. But it was for the nation's pride and it was worth it.**

**As the reinforcements arrived, Ichigo left his position and got to the battlefield to check if anyone was alive for the medical treatment. The reinforcements with the medical troop followed him.**

**And before he knew what was happening, he heard gunshots. A white hot searing pain started from his chest and he looked at his chest to see the green shirt bleeding red. Before he fell to the ground, his attacker fell first. Around 6-7 bullets deep seated in his body, the man spoke before he succumbed to Death.**

**'It was an honor fighting against you Captain Kurosaki!'**

**Ichigo realized what had happened. One of the opponents had hidden himself well, waiting him to show himself and BANG!**

**'I'm not going to fulfil my promise and my surprise', Ichigo thought. Ichigo's heart was in fire as he called one last time,'Renji!'before he followed his attacker's suit.**

**Before leaving his exhausted body, he told his lieutenant and his best friend in army Renji.'Get...letter...Rukia...a month from now...her birthday', was all he could manage and Rukia was all he could remember before he gave into numbness and breathed his last.**

* * *

'Ichigo', Rukia jerked violently from her sleep. She had been having this dream a lot recently. Who was Renji? What was the letter all about? She thought wearily as she got up from the bed.

The window covers blew maddeningly. She could swear she had seen something black swirl at the window. She shook her head to clear her head. Today was her birthday. 'A birthday without Ichigo',she thought hollowly.

She felt her eyes pricking but didn't shed her tears. She'd promised to him, she wouldn't. Ichigo had sacrificed himself for the sake of the country and their country had won the war. He'd done it for the nation, for his pride and for the peace of everyone.

He had chosen his path and she was proud of what he had done with his lfe. It was for the greater good. A small smile, barely recognizable tugged at her lips as she made her way to the washroom.

She could feel someone had been following her a lot lately. She felt it but couldn't find who it was. Whoever he/she was, the person was so familiar with her.

It was about nine when the bell rang. On the door was the handsome tattooed redhead she had often seen in her dreams. Renji Abarai stood there. This was the same woman, the reigning queen of his Captain's heart. He had seen her in the pictures Ichigo often looked at.

Without further ado, he pulled out a thick letter from his pocket and handed it over to her,'Ichigo taichou wanted me to give this to you. And happy birthday, by the way!'

Rukia looked at the envelop with searching eyes and took it with trembling fingers. Letter from her dream. Were the dreams true then?

Renji eyed the beautiful raven haired and violet-orbed woman in front fo him. The woman, whose beauty was marred by the death of the man she loved. She had of course lost some weight, there was dark bags under her eyes and her eyes spoke of sadness. Rukia was oblivious to the stare that she was receiving from the redhead.

She opened Ichigo's letter slowly. Renji decided to leave the poor girl alone with the letter, give her some privacy and he left. It wasn't in his place to comfort the girl anyway. This was the girl who had managed to capture the heart of his most admired Captain.

Small other envelopes with names of rooms fell to the floor along with a set of keys. Rukia's feet started to tremble as she slid down to the floor, her feet unable to take the weight of her body. She opened the major letter. Ichigo's beautiful handwriting was scrawled all across the paper.

* * *

_Oye Rukia,_ (Rukia smiled at the informal beginning, so Ichigo like, she noted pointlessly.)

_Happy birthday love. Wow, my midget's getting old. I hope this year brings something really new and hopeful to you.(Rukia snorted at that. What hopeful thing will happen to you when the one person you love ends up dead!)_

_Now onto the purpose of this letter. You're reading this letter means that I'm not around anymore. The feeling of death really reaches out to you in a place like this and I'm afraid that I may not be able to keep my promise to you but I want my surprise delivered to you, this exact day. It was a dream I've created for you and for myself using your idea but you have to carry on without me._

_The fact that I'm not with you doesn't mean that the world is over yet. You are the strongest person I know and hell you can even kick my arse. But there are certain things I want you to know and have._

_I want you to know that you're not alone. Look in the sky and you'll find me hovering over the clouds, feel the wind and you'll find my caress, smell the air around and you'll find yourself filled by my love..._

_I want you to know that you were indeed loved. Don't be sad that I'm not around anymore. Be strong for me. Don't be angry of the choices that I've made because there are certain things that a man must do. There are many things that I'm sorry for. I'm sorry for leaving you and hurting you but I'm not sorry for loving you._

_I hope you can get over me fast but before you do, I want you have the piece of my dream. I wanted to take you myself but now I guess I can't. Use the map and find the home I've made for you. Use the keys and open the letters with the name of the rooms on the respective room._

_And lastly, I love you always..._

_Forever Yours,_

**_Kurosaki Ichigo!_**

Rukia read and re-read the letter and took the mini-letters and the key that had earlier slid to the floor.

What was Ichigo up-to now?

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**And the Italics are Rukia's memories and bold one the dream Rukia had and also the reality. But I guess you have figured that one out..  
**

**Reviews are warmly welcomed...**

**~_Rain_**


	2. Promise: Fulfilled

**Since this was already written out, I thought why not post it already. So here it goes. People have told me it sounds a lot like *_P.S I Love You_* and it most probably does but it is still not _the _same.**

**So be a good sport and tell me what you think 'kay.**

**Pairing: Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki**

**And yeah, I forgot to say in the last chapter but I don't own Bleach or anything. And no money is being made out of this.

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_**Promise: Fulfilled

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**_

_'You know what I've always wanted?', Rukia said to Ichigo as they sat in the terrace of her apartment, eating ice-cream._

_'What?', Ichigo asked her. But Rukia was too absorbed in eating Ichigo's ice-cream when Ichigo looked at her. Ichigo chuckled at her antics and placed a hand on his ice-cream, mock-glaring at her,'Steal and eat my ice-cream!'_

_Rukia huffed,'It is my apartment, you know Ichigo! I can throw **you **out.'_

_'But **I **brought the ice-cream', Ichigo said trying to hide a smile. Who wouldn't if they saw Rukia sulking. She looked adorable._

_She took his smile for mocking or something because she looked away from him and dug her spoon in her ice-cream violently._

_'Whoa, slow down there tiger', he said as he offered her his share,'You happy now?'_

_Rukia smiled happily as she dug in his share,'I love chocolate flavour the most, you know.'_

_Of course he did, or why else would he buy it and give her the strawberry flavour instead. He loved making her grumpy. It was amusing watching the little girl's reaction. She would be grumbling and making faces._

_It was fun to annoy Rukia Kuchiki._

_'Where were we?', she asked as she dug on his ice-cream, looking like a little girl who was offered her favourite dish!_

_Technically she was a little girl who was offered her favourite flavour of ice-cream._

_'You always wanted something...', he drawled,'Apart from stealing and eating my ice-cream', he added to annoy her._

_She either didn't hear the last comment or was too lost thinking about what she had in mind to care about it because she didn't retort at it. Rather, she looked at the clear sky and said, her eyes illuminating with the dim light of the moon,'A home, with a little garden where I can grow the most fragile yet so beautiful flowers. The rooms would be my favourite colour violet, a little nursary, where someday, a baby will grow up!' She sighed and Ichigo swore, that was the best music, he had ever heard, the small girl, sighing._

_'And I want a huge Chappy Bunny room to myself', she added smiling. Then she looked at him and said innocently,'What?'_

_Ichigo looked away,'N-nothing.'_

_It took the best of him to cover up the blush that had formed when she was talking about a home. She wanted a little infirmatory where her kid would grow up one day!_

_'Our kid', Ichigo thought stupidly and grinned, his face hidden from her._

_Of course she wanted a home. Rukia had told him how she had grown in streets before the Kuchikis adopted her. It was the hardest part of her life, she had told him. She wasn't an open person but with Ichigo, she didn't fear shame or embarrassment and she had told him._

_Even in the rich and handsomely furnished Kuchiki mansion, Rukia had found no solace. She was too intimidated by her older brother Byakuya Kuchiki to tell him what she wanted. It was always Byakuya who chose on her every requirement and she never complained in his choice._

_After she had moved from the mansion, searching for an independent life, she hadn't had enough money to get a house and she was too proud to ask Byakuya for some, so she was living in her small yet fairly comfortable apartment, eating ice-cream with Ichigo.

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_

Taking the map and the mini-letters, along with the keys, she headed towards Ichigo's surprise.

The house was beautiful, just like she imagined it would be. The house was neatly designed three storyed with a balcony in the top storey, not too large, not too humble but still, it radiated comfort. She smiled ruefully. It was an odd warm sensation swooping down on her as she smiled. It had been too long that she had smiled.

She circled the white fenced home twice, admiring it from every angle, it was beautiful and flawless everyway possible. Not too airy, not too shabby, perfectly like her, just the way she had imagined it would be.

It was Ichigo's surprise, she felt her eyes burning. It was so thoughtful and kind of him. She had thought he would've long forgotten the exchange in her terrace, after all, they hadn't discussed about it from that day. But he had remembered it, not only remembered but fulfilled it. He was the most skillful designer she had ever seen. He had told her, he had been working on something since last year but never told her that he had been working on her dream,'_Our dream'_, she corrected herself.

She opened the door and smelled the newness in the air. Even though there was a layer of dust coating everything, there was this feeling of warmness that melted her to the core of her heart. The down floor was a single sitting room, she realized, she had never told him that. 'This must be his own idea'. She checked out the room, at the corner, there were two small rooms, one kitchen and one dining room. All the rooms on the down floor were modestly furnished. She thought in silent amusement, 'When has Ichigo changed into guy with such great tastes?'

She procedded onto the first floor, there was a bedroom, a nursury and a room that said 'Chappy Bunny Room'

She took the key out of her pocket and opened the Chappy Bunny Room, too curious too discover what she would find inside. She giggled as she opened the door. It was adorned with bunny wallpaper and there were Chappy Bunny avatar posters taped to the wall. Chappy Bunny as detective, Chappy Bunny as doctor, Chappy Bunny as alien, Chappy Bunny as scientist, Chappy Bunny as a rocker! She laughed out loud. When did Ichigo find out enough time to pull all of this. As she laughed, she felt Ichigo was right there by her side, smiling at her antics, with her.

She looked at the furnitures and the decorations, each were the Chappy Bunny merchandise! 'This must've cost a fortune', she thought! He had once mentioned to her that to see the person who mattered him the most happy, he'd do anything. Is this his way of saying that he loved her, more than anything? He had, after all never told her that he loved her, except in the letter. That was the sort of relationship they had, never vocal, but true.

She opened the minuscule letter with _Chappy Bunny _written across it. She tore it open and unfolded the letter.

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**You like it? I hope it fulfills your expectations of '_THE CHAPPY BUNNY ROOM'_. As weird as it sounds but I'm proud of this room. I hope you'll like it. And midget, give me a kiss!**

* * *

She smiled and flew a kiss into the room before leaving the room, admiring it,'It is more beautiful than I've ever imagined it!I gotta hand it to you Ichigo, you are awesome!'

She closed the door of the room, finally satisfied with what she'd seen and recovering from the shock. She was too enthusiastic to open the other room, she dropped the keys. She was about to pick up the key, that's when she realized she was genuinely happy to see all of this. She didn't feel sober or hurt anymore, she was smiling and remembering the things that mattered to her the most.

'Like this home Ichigo made for you!', her mind asked and she felt sober again. She was here enjoying the generosity Ichigo had bestowed her upon and Ichigo was dead. She didn't deserve it, not without him with her to enjoy it.

'**_On the contrary_'**, the wind felt like speaking to her,'_**you deserve every bit of it. Ichigo won't be happy, seeing you cry now, after all he's done to make you happy.'**_

It was true. Ichigo had spent too much effort and too much of money to realize her dream, she knew. So she wiped her tears and opened the bedroom.

She gasped out loud at the beauty of the room. But it was just not the room that had caught the breath on her throat, it was the painting on the wall. Just to say it was beautiful would be the understatement of the century, it was breathtaking, marvellous, wonderful, like the things Ichigo would end up painting when he put his heart and soul to it, it was _perfect_!

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_She had had enough of the world's crap for the day. Her boss had yelled at her for a simple mistake and had been so harsh that he had reduced her to tears. She had returned to her apartment, crying and called Ichigo. Ichigo had been there by her side immedately. He had abused her boss so shamelessly and humorously that she had finally given up being sad and laughed at his comments on how big her boss's head was. And at the evening, they had gone to the beach to clear their own heads._

_It was about sun-set, she had given up her stupid resolve to give up her job cause her boss was an arrogant airhead._

_'I'm not going to give up!', she had said said, looking back to him, smiling radiantly when he clicked the picture. The evening sun was going down below the horizon, the sky looking a beautiful shade of indigo, the waves of sea were crashing on her feet, her back was turned towards the camera but her head was turned back to look at him, her eyes shining with determination and her smile dazzling. After he clicked this picture, she had told him that she wasn't going to give up on her job._

_After the picture had come, he had said that he never saw her so beautiful. It was a compliment, given accidentally and later, when he realized he had said it out loud, he had coughed and smiled sheepishly at her. She had realized that day, how lost she'd be without Ichigo, how being his friend meant everything to her! Her heart was coaxing her to believe that she was head over heels for this guy but she had turned a deaf ear to it, afraid of her own emotions.

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_

The painting in the wall was the same picture of her. A small smile formed on her lips which grew wider and wider till she was crying just for the happiness of it. She opened the letter with the name '_Bedroom_' scrawled across and read it and her sobs and her chuckles were indistinguishable.

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**You like the painting shorty? Cause it was seeing you that day, your eyes blazing as you looked at me and told me, you were not going to give up, I realized that I was falling for you. Now I've really fallen for you, hard and deep. I'm sorry for telling you this late, I love you! There I said it! But I hope you'll never give up on life, just like you said that day. Even though I'm gone, I hope you'll carry on, with me buried deep under your heart.**

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'Of course I will carry on but not with you buried deep in my heart, you baka', she cried softly as she landed on the bed, just to find a huge Chappy Bunny stuffed toy on the middle. She was shivering when she took it in her arms,'Why are you doing this to me Ichigo?'

**'Cause I love You**', the answer was simple.

She didn't know how long she spent looking at the picture and brushing her hand through the stuffed toy or feeling the furniture and ogling at the big plasma screen at the opposite wall. But it was around evening that she finally found it in her heart and walked away from the room and proceeded onto the other rooms. There was a cute bathroom and small painting room, Ichigo wanted for himself. There was a small office room for her too. She smiled at his thoughtfulness. How could she had ever thought that this guy was clueless.

She went up to the final floor and checked out the place. The passage led to a balcony and there were just three rooms, one was a large sitting room ,one was a workout room and another was a small washroom. The washroom and the workout room were nothing special but it was the sitting room that reached her soul.

It was a massive room with a huge plasma screen and a small refrigerator on the side. There were everything they needed there, nice little coffee table, comfortable couch, everything. The wall of the room was covered with black cloth. She approached it and gave it a tug, it fell to the floor easily.

It was a painting. She backed off a bit to see the picture clearly. Before she could digest what the picture was trying to convey, tears welled up in her eyes,'Damn you Ichigo! Why didn't you ask me sooner?' It was too overwhelming as she slumped to the floor, crying for him, for her, for what could have been!

The painting was that of Ichigo, kneeling in front of her, with a grin on his face. There was a speech bubble that said,'Will you marry me?' Ichigo looking hopefully at her, praying she would say yes! The picture conjured up in her mind. What would she not give to have that moment with him.

She remembered the letter, it was the last one. She tore it open to make his fine handwriting get blotched by her tears...

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**So my beautiful midget, what do you say? Will you marry a man who has not much to give, except this house?(I used all my money on designing, building and furnishing this house but looking at it now, it's worth it. By the way, it's your property! I've already gone through papers, you only have to sign them, the papers are on the drawer.) That explanation completely ruined the moment, anyway, what do you say? I know it's hard for you, me not being there anymore but I just wanted to know. Remember I'm listening through the winds!**

* * *

'Now what am I supposed to say to this?', Rukia screamed loudly.

'_**Say what your heart tells you to!'**_, a soft voice said in her ears.

'I've lost my heart to the person who's never given it back!', she hyperventilated, finding it hard to breathe.

**_'Oh, you have his heart to yourself, listen to it, what does it tell you, what is it you want it to say to you? Listen to his heart and you'll hear it',_** the soft voice continued tickling on her ear.

'Yes', she said slowly, as if uncertainly.

**_'You sure? You sound uncertain!'_**, the voice resounded in her ear.

'Yes!', she said loudly.

**_'Say it confidently, like you mean it',_** the breathe fanning on her neck, cold.

'Yes Ichigo, I"ll marry you, I love you!', she screamed on the top on her lungs. She felt something move and she snapped her head to see a velvet box on the table. She took it and opened the box, it was a beautiful Platinum ring with her and Ichigo's name engraved in it. She wore it in her ring-finger. It fit perfectly. She smiled and felt like crying at the same time.

'**_You know, you have made him the happiest person in whole wide dimension?'_** The sound was faint but utterly happy.

* * *

It was around six in the evening, she managed to pick herself up and walked to the washroom to clean the mess she had become.

She wasn't hungry, she went to the balcony to feel the air. It was semi-dark and the last of sun's rays fell to the small garden she always wanted to have. The small water drops in the flowers reflected the light. Rukia looked at her fingers and smiled,'Happy Birthday Rukia!'

There was a gentle breeze on the air and Rukia closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. '_You feel the wind and you'll find my caress!_' She really felt like Ichigo was right by her, stroking her face.

'I love you Ichigo!', she voiced her feelings.

_**'I love you too Rukia'**_

The sensation felt too real for her to think that she was hallucinating. Even though afraid that the sensation will be gone if she opened her eyes. But she opened them, she had to open them.

A powerful feeling washed through her as she stumbled backwards just by the sheer force of it. A man in black robes, a man with molten amber orbs in black robes, a man with orange hair and molten amber orbs in black robes,_ her Ichigo_ in black robes!

'I-Ichi-Ichigo', she stammered, trying to believe what she is seeing is real and not an illusion.

_**'You can see me?',**_ the familiar hypnotic voice she was dying to hear came from him.

She shook her head to clear her head to clear herself, if it was a delusion. She looked up again to see the man she loved looking at her with a curious expression. Did this mean she was not delusional and the man in front of her was her Ichigo?

'Ichigo', she didn't care if this was a delusion or whatever as she threw herself over to him. He knew when to catch her and catch her, he did!

_**'Happy Birthday Shorty!'**_

* * *

**THE END!**

**Wow, that's my first IchiRuki fiction. And I think Ichigo was a bit too Out of Character.  
**

**Was it weird? Guess who Ichigo is right now, yep, a shinigami. Ehehe, kudos to those who figured it out. I don't want to make my favourite Kuchiki and carrot-top unhappy!**

**And the letters in bold are letters. The italics are the memories of Rukia and the Italics-bold are Ichigo's words. He was watching her the whole time! So what do you think, I thought it was done okay but there are some emotions that I can't quite portray. Anyways, lemme know whatcha think aye? Now I'm going back to study!**

**_~Rain_  
**


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